~ Thumper’s Annual Memorial Ride ~

 

Hi Friends,

I hope everyone had an great Memorial Day weekend. We were on the road all day Saturday and Sunday, enjoying the sun and riding the bike to pay respects and visit friends!

Saturday we took part in Shane’s stepdad’s annual memorial ride. Thumper has been doing this ride for a long time now. We ride to the Ohio Fallen Hero’s Memorial in Sunbury Ohio.

http://www.ohiofallenheroes.org/about/the-memorial.php

It is a police escorted ride which is the best kind of ride. For an hour you never stop and your feet never hit the ground.

Thumper and Shane’s mom Debbie are the first. Shane and I are the second lead bike.

Here is a shot of our police escorts.

We had 4 plus a fire engine and a Army Jeep!

Thumper and Debbie flying the flag!

Bikers riding to pay their respects to the fallen.

We had a smaller group this year because of the heat… it was 95 degrees, but the turn out was still amazing!

 

This is the Ohio Fallen Hero’s Memorial. There is a cross or Jewish Star for each of the fallen with their name, rank and date on it. It’s so beautiful. I wish it didn’t have to exist at all… but since it does… it is really beautiful and respectful.

Never forget! Always respect!

If you look close you can see all the new temporary crosses for those we have lost recently. :(

I pray this field never gets filled.

It was a wonderful day and way to pay respects to those who have given all for us.

We will always come here on Memorial day weekend to say thank you.

Until next time…

Carmen and the Primcats

Thank you to all who serve!!!!

Thank you to all who serve this country!!! 

A cat story… with a happy ending!

Hello friends…

So here’s the thing… I can’t say no to a cat in need. I have to leave that *No* factor to Mr Primcat. and 99.99999999% of the time… I see the cat… I say pleeeeeeaaaasssseeeeee…  he says NO,absolutely not…  he gives me 14 good reasons why the answer will always be no and should always be no… and that’s the end of the story.

So last Sunday we’re at someone’s house where a ton of stray cats live in the neighborhood and this kitten comes out from under a porch where all they strays live and goes right up to Mr. Primcat and starts circling his ankles. Oh dear Lord… I looked at him and saw Yes written all over his face.

Crap! The “No man” can’t say yes!!! We have 14 spoiled babies living in harmony and bringing in another cat is just asking to start world war three.

I picked up the kitten gave it some love and frankly got out of there as fast as I could. Ha!

And then it stuck with me.

All.

Night.

Long.

That kitty needed a home. A real one. Not living under a porch eating garbage out of trash cans.

Hello kitty!

(Oh dear, I look like crap. That was after Zumba and personal training and then picking up the cat. I was so whooped. It had been a long day.)

Female, Tabby. All white mittens. 5-6 months old. Sweet as can be. Lap cat that melts into you.

Any way… I can’t jump in and just rescue like I used to. It’s not fair to our Primcats. So Mr. Primcat and I discussed it again and again and again and again and we came to an agreement for her.

Bringing a new cat into our physical house with our established pride is like dropping an atomic bomb. It can not be done without mass destruction and casualties. It is WAR!  I am NOT even kidding. It took a year after Tracy came in 2008 for things to settle back down. It was a rough and scary year. Messing with a happy home of as many cats as we have is just selfish of us.

But… the kitten still needed help.

The agreement was we take her with the intention of rehoming her to an indoor only home. And if we can not find her a home New Kitty will be Hubby’s new shop cat. Already having spent the first 6 months of her rough little life outside I don’t think she will have a problem with that. Trust me… outdoor cats lack nothing at Primcats house either. But MY plan was to find her an indoor only home! I never intended to keep her.

So I went and got the cat.

Kitty was a stray and is the SWEETEST cat ever. So loving. All she wants is a lap to lay in.

      

Limp Snuggle kitty!  

When she isn’t in your lap she is a major busy body! This is the only picture I could get of her sitting still. lol.

 

So pretty!

Giant fluffy tail!

Checking out the yard from the safety of the garage.

Getting love and pets. Look at that tail swoosh!

 

And as luck would have it… it didn’t take me long to find this little angel a home. A whole 3 days… and she’s into her new forever home with a really great friend of mine who has been looking for a new kitty.

It’s a perfect fit. Kitty wants 24/7 love and attention and her house is never empty! There will always be someone there to pet her. I could not have asked for her to go to a better family.

So yeah… I fell head over heals for that kitten… and so did Mr. Primcat. And I had to help her… but she’s not a new primcat. I know everyone wanted her to be. But her ending is even better.

She got her own family to love forever.

♥♥♥♥

Don’t you just love a happy ending!

Until next time…

Carmen and the Primcats

Thank you Jan ~ Life on Buttermilk Hill

 

Hi Friends,

Hope everyone is doing well today!

Wanted to pop and and give a big shout out to a fellow blogger that I was blessed enough to meet this past weekend.

Jan from http://lifeonbuttermilkhill.wordpress.com/ came to my town to do a show and I got to meet her and her husband!

It was such a nice hello! Her booth was so pretty and she had so many beautiful painted pieces. Check out her blog to see her work!

She also gifted me with this wonderful spoon! I love it!

 

It was so great to meet you Jan! And I am so glad your show here in our town went so well!

Come back anytime! :)

 

If you don’t already know Jan stop by her blog and say hello!

http://lifeonbuttermilkhill.wordpress.com/

Until next time…

Carmen and the Primcats 

Tuesday Tutorial ~ Bells

Hi Friends... 

Found another old post back in the drafts! 

Remember last year when I bought this ever so ugly gold bell wreath and said I had plans for it... well here ya go. 

Tracy... helping. :)

EW! Shiney. No No NO!!!! 

So I had Mr. Primcat string them all up and paint them black for me! 

As you can see we had LOTS of GW bells to do. Not just that big wreath. I had been picking them up here and there for a long time! 

Now I have a whole tote of black bells for less than $5.00! 

Here are the little ones he did! 

Obviously we did this on a huge scale by stringing them across a whole room because we had so many but you can do this smaller scale in a box of any size. Just string them from side to side. 

Cheap ugly gold goodwill bells made 

Prim Perfect!! 

Until next time...

Carmen and the Primcats

A short cat story...

Hi Friends!

Happy Monday!

I want to tell you a short little story.

This is a true story about a real cat

who's ending hasn't been written yet.

>^..^<

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sometimes you meet a cat on the street... 

and it looks up at you with it's beautiful eyes...

and it's big fluffy tail... 

and it rubs it's long skinny body along your legs...

and when you pick it up it presses itself into you,

as hard as it possibly can...

begging you to never let it go... 

begging for your forever love.

Then she purrs into your soul... 

and she speaks into your heart... 

and you can actually hear her say 

"I belong to you." 

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

To be continued... 

Feel free to guess the ending. Coming soon!

;o) 

Until next time... 

Carmen and the Primcats

Treasures from Laura

Hi My Peeps.

I wanted to share with you today some treasures from my Stepmom, Laura. 

(This is an old post I forgot I had from last summer. Just found it in my drafts!)

I love treasures from my family as much as treasures from my friends. All of these are very special to me.

Two great mashers! You know I love my mashers!

A cute cat figurine! Willie Raye

A tea towel. Gonna grunge this up. 

She got this to remind Mr. Primcat of the rules. LOL! Love it!

How cute is this pic?

A tale of two kitties and one stupid chicken.

HAHA!

Tracy arrives to help, as is her job.

Hey mom. How goes the pics?

Give me some pets and I’ll be on my way!  >^..^<

After some major head petting…

Lastly a mod cat picture! So cool!

A big thank you to Laura for all the treasures!

I love everything!

Until next time…

Carmen and the Primcats

~ Weigh in Wednesday ~

Hello my prim peeps!

How is everyone doing? Good I hope!

Busy Busy Busy around the Primcats House. Lots of Spring chores have been happening. Weeding, trimming, mulching and working on the veggie beds. It’s all done I think. I HOPE!

I have still been working hard at my weight loss. I’m still doing Weight Watchers… into month 4 now. And I am still doing Zumba 3 days a week.

I told you in my last update that I hired a Personal Trainer and she has been kicking my bootie! Loving it!

And then this week I am doing a 6 day Zumba marathon. Zumba every night. Monday through Saturday! 

Gotta cardio it up to lose these rolls!

So between the yard work, the Zumba and the personal training I have a great weigh in this week.

My last actual Weigh in Wednesday was on April 25th. YIKES. I have been stuck for that long. But all is well now.

Here we go…

Starting Weight: 150

Last Weight in : 130

Today’s Weigh in: 128!!!

Total Lost: 22 Pounds!

Yay!

So excited! Only 13 more to go. Of course they are the 13 hardest but still… only 13 more. Woohoo!

Until next time…

Carmen and the Primcats

Happy Mother’s Day!

To all the wonderful mothers out there!!!

And then for me…

Even though this is how they treat me. ;o)

Just kidding… my babies love me bunches!

Like this one loves his human!!

Happy Mothers Day Ladies!

Until next time…

Carmen and the Primcats

Almost planting time...

Hi Peeps! 

How are you all doing? 

Me? Fantastic! Busy... very busy. Doing this and that but then a whole bunch of nothing. LOL! I know you know what I mean. 

I came across this picture on facebook... and I just HAD to share. Loved it! 

I can't wait for to get some food in the ground. The weather is warming fast and I think it's safe to put some things in the beds now. 

Here are our beds back in 2008 when we built them...

And here they are in 2010 filled with yummy food!

(Yes, that's the cat enclosure in the background.) 

However... after 4 years of weathering my beds need some major work. The 4x4 corner posts that held my raised beds together in the corners have split. Recommendation... cap your posts! ;o) Lesson learned. If I would have capped the posts this never would have happened. The side pieces are fine. So since they need major repairs we have even decided to move and expand this year. I am not exactly sure of my plan yet so I'm going to go ahead and plant these beds for now... and I'll keep you updated on our expansion when it starts. :) 

So... back to the point of this post... rage against the machine and get out there and plant something to eat! Even if it's just tomato plant in a bucket... that's all it takes! 

Until next time... 

Carmen and the Primcats

~ Weigh in Wednesday and eye update ~

Hi Friends, 

I hope this finds you well! Doing good here. 

Monday I went for my 3 month eye exam after having Lasek/PRK eye surgery to correct my vision. I am very very happy to report that after months of symptoms they did not warn me about... 

I am finally 20/20. 

Now that I'm at the end I'm happy and it was worth it. :) I still have sensitivity to light and dry eyes but that will go away over the next 6 months they say. So over all... no regrets and very happy! I would highly recommend it to anyone who's interested, just know what your in for. :) 

My weight loss is still happening. I have unfortunately rebounded after hitting 129... but that's sometimes just how it goes. I am back to 130/131. 

My weight loss has been pretty consistent, losing almost every week, over the last 4 months. So I'm thrilled with that... however I feel like I need something extra. My goal date is quickly approaching and I don't want it to pass me by. I wanted to be in a swim suit and feeling good about it by July 1. That's less than 8 weeks away and I still have 15 pounds and a whole lotta jiggle to go. Like... a LOT. I don't feel like I will be able to hit that goal on my own. At an average weight loss of 1.2 pounds per week... I will only lose 9.6 pounds over the next 8 weeks based on my average.

So I decided to step it up. 

I took all my saved shopping money for the summer... and hired a personal trainer instead! Woohoo!!!! 

That's right! No shopping but... 

I have a Personal Trainer! 

I never thought I would be saying that. Yet here I am. lol! 

I am down to the hard to lose fat at this point. The stuff that sticks to you like glue. The triple rolls of belly fat. The thighs that just wont shrink to get me into those smaller jeans. The stuck to my ribs back fat rolls. That's right ladies. I'm not afraid to say it. All that... HAS GOT TO GO! 

So I am hopeful that with her help I will be right where I want to by goal time. I am also happy to be doing this because when I get to my goal weight... I won't be "skinny fat"... I will be in shape, healthy and toned. Maybe even have a 2 pack under all those rolls! Woohoo! Can't say I ever thought I would be saying that either. 

Overall... here's what I want to say... losing weight is darn hard. It's maddening sometimes but the only thing standing in my way is always myself... and I'm stronger than that comfortable couch, delicious bag of salt and vinegar chips and bottle of wine. :o) and you can be too! 

Until next time... 

Carmen and the Primcats